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These are the places everybody talks about -- "you have to go!" -- and when you get there, maybe only silently inside, you find yourself grumbling: Why did I bother?

It's almost like the Yogi Berra line: Nobody goes there anymore -- it's too crowded. Except what you are thinking is: Nobody should go there. Overpriced. Rude and self-impressed. Nothing to do. Those are key reasons that make a destination overrated. Understand two realities about this list of overrated destinations.

Places like Bakersfield, California, and Camden, New Jersey, aren't on this list, because they aren't overrated. Ignored places definitionally can't be overrated.

This topic breeds disputes. You may think that Berlin is overrated -- overcrowded with tourists and mediocre and overpriced restaurants. I on the other hand adore Berlin (although acknowledging the food is blah, the only people there are out-of-towners, and the ghoul factor indeed is high). But just walking along the preposterously grand Karl Marx Allee makes me want to break into song. De gustibus non est disputandum. There is no disputing taste.

The aim here is to highlight destinations with very few lovers and an awful lot of haters.

It already has the world's busiest airport for international passengers, but, word of advice, don't leave the airport. Other than the occasional dust storm, local attractions are thin. Said Suzanne Garber, chief networking officer at traveler assistance company International SOS: "Shopping mecca of the Middle East and haven for foreigners and expats. Where else can you ski inside a mall in 90 degree heat? But, guess what? The whole place is fake! Get a real life, go to a real mountain and ski in real temperatures. You don't need to go to Dubai for this."

You go there for the spectacular and rare medieval architecture in the city center, maybe for a little Kafka (the museum is well worth a stop). The problem is, too many others think likewise. Said Patrick Smith, host of askthepilot.com: "[Prague is] a wonderful city, I'm sure. But the average visitor hardly gets a sense of it, having to jostle through dense crowds and stand in various lines for endless amounts of time." Bustling, crowded Prague also has had significant issues with pickpockets who target tourists. There also are loud complaints about fines, seemingly issued randomly, by transit officials for violations of arcane procedures (not getting tickets properly stamped, as in who knew?).

Said Brian Penny, who blogs at ThoughtForYourPenny: "Aspen is the most overrated place I ever visited. Parking is expensive, it's overly crowded, and it's filled with touristy shtick nobody actually likes." Everything in Aspen is expensive, from hotels to restaurants to tchotchkes. It's a kind of Rocky Mountain version of Manhattan's (once charming now pretentious) Soho. If you are a one-percenter -- or want to be perceived as such -- Aspen is your place. Otherwise, advised Penny, get your Rocky Mountain high on in "the nearby cities of Carbondale, Glenwood Springs and Redstone. [They] have access to the same ski slopes at a fraction of the price."

That's the nominee of Bob Diener, co-founder of Getaroom.com and former president and co-founder of Hotels.com. He elaborated: "very touristy and crowded." There's no there there. Cancun was developed from scratch by Mexico to lure tourists. In 1970, before development commenced, you could have counted the number of residents on the fingers of one hand. Go instead to Tulum, a gorgeous Mayan ruin on the coast south of Cancun. Or head inland to Chichen Itza, a very large Mayan ruin. The Yucatan Peninsula is lovely -- it belongs on any bucket list. Just skip Cancun.

It is 10,000 miles from New York. Flights take upwards of 24 hours. They cost $1,500 and more. What do you do in Bali? That is the question. The answer is: not much. Maybe visit a traditional weaver and watch batik made. Buy a sarong (and, yes, men and women alike there wear skirts). Listen to a local gamelan band musical performance. Watch a Hindu parade (Bali practices its own, age-old version of Hinduism). Pity the starving dogs (seemingly harmless stay dogs are ubiquitous). Dodge party-hearty Millennial Australians who are on the island, because, to them, it's their Cancun. And then what? Mick Jagger got married to Jerry Hall on Bali; you know how that worked out.

Poor Ernest Hemingway. Polydactyl (six toed) cats still overrun the speck of an island (and usually are said to be descendants of a Hem kitty). But, man, has it otherwise gone to the dogs. Said travel blogger L. Jaye Bell, who writes at IdleSpeedNoWake, "We drove from Maine to Key West last fall. Were completely shocked at the travel industry's form of cannibalism imposed on the island. Hemingway is turning over in his grave." Numerous cruise ships have had ill consequences. "When the giant 20-story shoebox ship buzzed by and eclipsed the sunset, it wasn't pretty. The channel is dredged deeper each year to accommodate their massive drafts."

Travel blogger Marcus Orbe, who blogs at Hipaways, said similar: "[Key West] is way too touristy and not real anymore. Packed with cruise ship visitors, cheap souvenir shops all over the city. Exhausting, because of all these people. No hideaways to find. Long, long drive all the way down from Miami and nothing to see."

I've been to #2 thru #6, no real dissappointments in any. Did Cancun in the 80's, not the mega mess it is now. Prague was very interesting, Bali was fantastic, Aspen many years ago, Key West lots of fun. Don't think they're really that overrated, what you see is what you get. So where's the list of underrated tourist destinations?

I never did like beaches.... The sand gets everywhere, there is no shade and everything is hot. All the dead fish make it smell like a rank old prostitute. You have to walk forever through what feels like a toxic desert just to get to the water. There is dirt/mud mixed with the water due to the waves churning everything up. I would take a sunset in the Arizona desert over any beach..

I am quite thankful everyone else on the planet loves the beach though... It keeps them out of the places I enjoy.

There's something seriously wrong here. With the exception of Dubai, these are some of the greatest places to visit on vacation. If you can't manage to have a good time in Key West or Cancun, you don't understand how to enjoy yourself. For one thing, if you don't like the tourist places (and btw, you ARE a tourist), then just start turning corners and finding the less touristy people and places. I've visited most of these spots, and find this rule true whether you're in Key West or Cancun (or, for that matter, Orlando). As gardnerst8 said, enjoy the beaches and the Mexican city part of Cancun (yes, it exists, even if it was created), go to some good restaurants and clubs, and then use Cancun as a base to see the surrounding area.

In Key West, enjoy the kookiness of the Conch Republic, have some good seafood, go to the beach, then go diving or snorkeling on some of the world's best reefs. And if you can't enjoy the beauty of the drive down from Miami, wow! Great scenery. Maybe don't try so hard to make it in three hours. Slow down and take your time.

Bali?? As Scotilla said, stop booking your room in Kuta or Legian or the other wild areas. Rent a quiet room in Ubud or even Jimbaran Bay. Surf, snorkle, dive, swim, get a massage. Eat at both good restaurants and little local ones. Talk to the friendly, generous Balinese people. Learn about the culture. Bali is one of the world's loveliest places, which is why it's so popular.

Aspen may not be the best choice for those on a budget, but even those of us who don't run hedge funds can still enjoy the fabulous mountain vistas and the skiing in winter and hiking in summer. I might agree that nearby resorts towns are a better value.

And Prague. Just go off-season (the best time to see any of Europe) and turn those corners I mentioned. Prague is enchanting.

Vacations or travel are what YOU make of them. Don't miss five of the greatest places on Earth because of what this guy says about them. Okay, even Dubai is worth seeing once.

While there are a great many things to see, places to visit, in the Hew Hess Hay, there are agreat many others around the world: Cancun can be just a hotel rental car base to visit Tulum, atiny ruin compared to Chichen Itza, and others that you can easily reach (how is the securitydown there?), Peru has Machu Picchu, and S. America has Iguassu Falls, and many othercountries and cultures. I have been to Paris several times but never to the Louvre or thatpalace (crowds) but have explored back roads and the castles of the Loire and the Dordogne,Chambord and Chenenceau, Berlin? After you've seen a bombed out church, again get ina rental car and take the Romantische Strasse to Rothenburg o.d.T. and south to Mad KingLudwig's castles...Stay in Zimmer Frei. Take a cruise into the fjords of Norway and a rideon the Flambann. Oslo has the Vigeland sculptures and Viking museums, Bergen hasscenery. I prefer scenery to cities, and back roads to boulevards.

Have to disagree about Bali. Sure, if you stay in Kuta and Nusa Dua it's just a touristy resort, but travel around the island. Fo every shop in Kuta, there is a town elsewhere on the island where you can see all the crafts, dances, art forms, monkeys that you see one of in Kuta. I rode my bicycle around the southern half of the island. One town had unbelieveably beautiful wood crafts, another weaving, another silver crafts, and in another they did a dance (though only in the morning. I had to settle for a tour of the costume area). And I got to se the monkeys, who ignore you if you don't give them bananas.I'd love to go back and see the rest of the island, each town with its own art form.

Key West is wonderful - great places to eat, drink and be merry. Enjoy some Key Lime Pie at every place you dine. Each one has a bit of a different take on this delicious dessert (even good on a stick).